Edison E. Oberholtzer

Edison Ellsworth Oberholtzer (May 6, 1880 – June 18, 1954) was the first president of the University of Houston. Oberholtzer obtained his undergraduate education at Westfield College in Westfield, Illinois and Indiana State Normal School (now known as Indiana State University). In 1915, he received his Master of Arts degree from the University of Chicago. Prior to founding the University of Houston, Oberholtzer was a teacher and administrator for schools in Indiana before eventually becoming a superintendent in Tulsa, Oklahoma and then Houston, Texas.

Early life Edison Oberholtzer was born May 6, 1880, in Patricksburg, Indiana to Augustus and Mary Anne Oberholtzer née Collins. Edison married Myrtle May Barr on March 26, 1901, and eventually had three children, Kenneth, Esther and Edison Jr.

In March 1925, his niece Madge Oberholtzer—daughter of his older brother George—was kidnapped, tortured and raped by D.C. Stephenson, Grand Dragon of the Indiana Ku Klux Klan. Her deathbed statement was sufficient to convict Stephenson of second degree murder in one of the most sensational cases in American history.

Career Oberholtzer began his career in education as a teacher and administrator for small schools in Indiana from 1898 through 1903. His widow died on December 24, 1959, in San Bernardino, California.